Around the NFL

March 15, 2019

Giants wideouts

Tate joins Shepard as similar type of wideout

The Giants signed Golden Tate yesterday, and it's both understandable and a little odd. Understandable since New York needed a capable wideout after shipping off Odell Beckham, but odd in that Tate is similar to the remaining viable wideout on the roster, Sterling Shepard.

Both guys are best operating out of the slot, catching shorter passes near the line of scrimmage. Among wide receivers to catch at least 100 passes the last three seasons, both show up toward the bottom in yards per reception.

WIDE RECEIVERS YARDS PER CATCH, 2016-2018 (100+)
Player	'16	'16	'17	'17	'18	'18	Tot	Avg
DeSean Jackson	56	1005	50	668	41	774	147	16.7
T.Y. Hilton	91	1448	57	966	76	1270	224	16.5
Marvin Jones	55	930	61	1101	35	508	151	16.5
Marquise Goodwin	29	431	56	962	23	395	108	16.4
Julio Jones	83	1409	88	1444	113	1677	284	16.1
Tyrell Williams	69	1059	43	728	41	653	153	16.1
Kenny Stills	42	726	58	847	37	553	137	15.6
Brandin Cooks	78	1173	65	1082	80	1204	223	15.6
Chris Hogan	38	680	34	439	35	532	107	15.3
Mike Evans	96	1321	71	1001	86	1524	253	15.2
John Brown	39	517	21	299	42	715	102	14.9
Kelvin Benjamin	63	941	48	692	25	380	136	14.8
Will Fuller	47	635	28	423	32	503	107	14.8
A.J. Green	66	964	75	1078	46	694	187	14.7
Robby Anderson	42	587	63	941	50	752	155	14.7
Tyler Lockett	41	597	45	555	57	965	143	14.6
Sammy Watkins	28	430	39	593	40	519	107	14.5
Allen Robinson	73	883	1	17	55	754	129	14.3
Alshon Jeffery	52	821	57	789	65	843	174	14.2
Tyreek Hill	61	593	75	1183	87	1479	223	14.2
Devin Funchess	23	371	63	840	44	549	130	14.0
Amari Cooper	83	1153	48	680	75	1005	206	13.8
Ted Ginn	54	752	53	787	17	209	124	13.7
Terrelle Pryor	77	1007	20	240	16	252	113	13.6
DeAndre Hopkins	78	954	96	1378	115	1572	289	13.4
Adam Thielen	69	967	91	1276	113	1373	273	13.4
Robert Woods	51	613	56	781	86	1219	193	13.4
Antonio Brown	106	1284	101	1533	104	1297	311	13.2
Odell Beckham	101	1367	25	302	77	1052	203	13.1
Donte Moncrief	30	307	26	391	48	668	104	13.1
Dontrelle Inman	58	810	25	343	28	304	111	12.9
Taylor Gabriel	35	579	33	378	67	688	135	12.7
Jamison Crowder	67	847	66	789	29	388	162	12.6
DeVante Parker	56	744	57	670	24	309	137	12.6
Davante Adams	75	997	74	885	111	1386	260	12.6
Pierre Garcon	79	1041	40	500	24	286	143	12.5
Doug Baldwin	94	1128	75	991	50	618	219	12.5
Jordan Matthews	73	804	25	282	20	300	118	12.4
Emmanuel Sanders	79	1032	47	555	71	868	197	12.4
Keenan Allen	6	63	102	1393	97	1196	205	12.2
Sterling Shepard	65	683	59	731	66	872	190	12.0
Michael Thomas	92	1137	104	1245	125	1405	321	11.9
Brandon LaFell	64	862	52	548	12	135	128	11.8
Tyler Boyd	54	603	22	225	76	1028	152	11.7
Demaryius Thomas	90	1083	83	949	59	677	232	11.6
Jermaine Kearse	41	510	65	810	37	371	143	11.6
Willie Snead	72	895	8	92	62	651	142	11.5
Rishard Matthews	65	945	53	795	5	24	123	11.4
Mohamed Sanu	59	653	67	703	66	838	192	11.4
Stefon Diggs	84	903	64	849	102	1021	250	11.4
Nelson Agholor	36	365	62	768	64	736	162	11.3
Jordy Nelson	97	1257	53	482	63	739	213	11.3
Golden Tate	91	1077	92	1003	74	795	257	11.1
Michael Crabtree	89	1003	58	618	54	607	201	11.1
Jarvis Landry	94	1136	112	987	81	976	287	11.0
Adam Humphries	55	622	61	631	76	816	192	10.8
Seth Roberts	38	397	43	455	45	494	126	10.7
Danny Amendola	23	243	61	659	59	575	143	10.4
Larry Fitzgerald	107	1023	109	1156	69	734	285	10.3
Cordarrelle Patterson	52	453	31	309	21	247	104	10.1
Randall Cobb	60	610	66	653	38	383	164	10.1
Cole Beasley	75	833	36	314	65	672	176	10.1
JuJu Smith-Schuster			58	917	111	1426	169	9.6
Cooper Kupp			62	869	40	566	102	9.4
Julian Edelman	98	1106			74	850	172	7.6

Now one of these players (probably Shepard, who played there some when Beckham was hurt) will need to line up as an outside receiver. Not ideal for their strengths.

The Giants are committed to Eli Manning as their quarterback; they're paying him a $5 million roster bonus today. They're still thinking about winning now, which the Tate signing (he turns 31 in August) makes clear.

But how this wide receiver grouping is going to work is fair to question. Shepard and Tate work best catching passes near the line of scrimmage, which is where Saquon Barkley catches plenty of passes, and also Evan Engram's territory.

The interesting guy might be Corey Coleman, who New York re-signed. He's the current favorite for No. 3 duties, and could run those deeper routes. New York also has an extra first-round pick from the Beckham trade, and it's a deep wide receiver class. They'll likely add a wideout early in the draft.

For now, though, I'm wondering how Tate and Shepard will fit together in the offense. Long-term, if Tate has a few years left (they're paying him like he does), Shepard might end up getting his second contract from some other team.

--Andy Richardson

Sterling Shepard Golden Tate

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